Luigi's New Pet
by spiritlight25
Summary: After Mario goes to rescue Peach again, Luigi sets off in search of his own pet. When he stumbles across a strange creature, he decides to take care of it himself, not realizing that taking care of a Pokemon is not always an easy ride.
1. Chapter 1

The idea for this story's been hanging over my head for a while now and I've finally finished typing the first chapter. I think I like how this turned out.

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Luigi's New Pet

Chapter 1: Lost and Found

"Mario! Breakfast!" The buttery scent of pancakes wafted through the air as Luigi prepared the food. The pan sizzled from the melted butter as the pancake was then placed on a plate. The younger brother hummed to himself while putting away the pan and sat down at his chair.

"Mario!"

"I'm coming!" The sound of footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Mario stood at the kitchen doorway and stared at the table in the center then at Luigi, who was munching on a piece of pancake.

"Whoa… Pancakes?" Luigi nodded.

"I also made eggs." Sitting next to each plate of their pancakes was a small plate of scrambled eggs. Mario's mouth began to water just by taking in the delicious aroma of the food. He went to the table and sat down himself. He couldn't help but hear his brother humming cheerfully as he ate his meal.

"You're in a good mood today, Weegee." Mario took the syrup and poured some on his pancakes. As he did so, he glanced up at his brother for a moment. This was a little unusual. Mario knew that Luigi was never this happy and didn't go nuts over a huge breakfast unless something excited had happened or he wanted something.

"So…" said the older brother as he took a bite of his pancake. "Anything new and exciting happen recently?"

"Besides the good weather outside today? Nope, don't think so." Luigi didn't even lift up his gaze from his plate.

"You sure? 'Cause the last time I remember you like this was when you told me that you and Daisy were finally going out together."

Luigi's smile suddenly faded. His grip loosened and the fork clanked against the plate. Mario did the best he could to restrain from laughing at the sudden change in his brother's behavior. Luigi's cheeks turned scarlet red the minute he heard her name. Despite being with her for several months now, he still felt a little flustered around her.

"Did something happen?"

"No, of course not!" Luigi's cheeks grew redder. "You know that I like taking things slowly."

"Yeah, I know," replied Mario. "It's just funny when you get flustered like that sometimes."

Luigi pouted before getting back to his breakfast.

"Alright, what do you want then?"

"For you to stop picking on me."

"Okay, first, I can't because I'm your brother and it's my job. Second, you don't go around making a big meal unless something great happened or you want something. So spill."

"Oh, nothing much. Just a pet is all, to keep me company while you go save Peach as usual."

"Is that all?"

"That, and also to borrow your tennis racquet. Mine broke." He gave Mario a sheepish grin.

"If you wanted a pet, bro, why didn't you say so?"

"Remember what happened to our goldfish?" Luigi countered.

"Hey, I was only 5!" Mario shot back.

Luigi rolled his eyes. "A five-year-old should know that a goldfish can't live without water."

After a moment's silence, the familiar sound of "Mail call!" had reached their ears. Luigi took that as his cue to get the mail since he had already finished breakfast. No sooner did he come back with the usual bills and a red envelope. "Oh, no…"

"What's the matter?" Luigi handed the envelope to Mario who opened it up. The cadet peered over the other's shoulder to get a better look.

_Master Mario, _

_Please hurry to the castle! Princess Peach has been captured! I will provide you what you will need for your journey._

_Toadsworth_

"Peach got captured again?" queried Luigi. "Uh, how many times has she been captured now?"

Mario put the letter back in its envelope. "Not sure. But I guess Bowser won't stop until she agrees to marry him, which will be never."

"Uh, did you forget when Count Bleck –I mean Blumiere- forced her to marry him?"

"That doesn't count." Mario got up, letter in hand, and headed to the door. "I guess I'll see you later!"

"Wait, you're going now?"

"Better to get it done now than later, right?"

"I guess so." Luigi went over to pick up the dirty dishes, preparing to wash them. "See ya, bro!"

"Bye." Luigi resumed taking care of the mess, letting his mind wander as he did so.

_I can't wait to get a pet, _he thought. Then he chuckled. _I'm starting to feel like a kid again. Hopefully this time, Mario won't endanger it like he did with Flips._

After half an hour of clearing the table and washing the dishes, Luigi was all set. Grabbing his green cap from the coat rack, he went out the door… only to recall something…

"Forgot the keys."

***

A group of Boos floated amongst the trees within a dark forest. They were enjoying themselves, their laughter echoing as they passed by.

"That was some night, yesterday, huh?" asked one Boo. It had a scar on its forehead.

"You said it, Fangs," replied the second Boo. This one had a blue star-shaped mark close to its right eye. "What do you think, Bolt?"

This Boo was yellow instead of white like a regular Boo. In his mind he smiled; being addressed by his real name was a whole lot better than being called by his nickname, which was "Lemon".

"That was an awesome party. Sorry about the glass thing, Fangs."

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing but a scratch for all I know."

Bolt turned to the blue-starred Boo. "So, what do you think we should do tonight… Blue?" Fangs snickered.

"Don't be making fun of my name! Want me to start calling you "Lemon" again?"

"Oh, come on! "Blue"? Surely you could do better than that."

"See this?" Blue pointed to his star mark. Fangs and Bolt stared at it then nodded.

"What about it?" asked Fangs.

"It's my battle scar," Blue stated proudly. Bolt burst into laughter.

"A battle scar? You call _that…_ a battle scar? Oh, that's rich, ha!"

"Don't be making fun of it!"

"I… don't see… why not!" Bolt continued through his laughter. "I mean… you got hit… by a little Star Bit for crying out loud! What… were you even… _doing _in Ghostly Galaxy in the first place?"

"Your point?"

"That's… so pathetic!"

"I'll show you pathetic!" Before Bolt could even stop laughing, Blue was already wrestling him to the ground. When it came to his name and his scar, Blue was sensitive and would pick a fight if anyone dared to make fun of either of them. His cousin Bolt was no exception.

"Take it back, you overgrown lemon!" shouted Blue.

"Make me!" Bolt countered with a slap to the face only to have his fin-like hand bit by Blue.

"Ah! Why you little…"

Fangs watched as the two cousins rolled around on the ground. He sighed disapprovingly seeing his friends behave in such a manner. He sometimes wondered how he was able to deal with their pointless and ridiculous fights.

Just then, something caught his eye. He turned and noticed something yellow in the distance. "Hey, guys?"

"OW! Let go of my tail!" yelled Bolt. His cousin bit him on the tail.

"Not until you take back what you said!" shouted Blue through his teeth.

"Guys…"

Blue bit down a bit more. "I'm warning you…"

"OW! LET GO ALREADY!"

"Guys…"

"Say it!" Blue bit down a bit harder.

"OW! Okay, okay, OKAY! I take it back!"

"HEY!" The two Boos turned to their friend. "Think you two could quit arguing long enough to hear what I'm trying to tell you?"

Bolt and Blue looked at each other then at Fangs. "He started it," they said as they pointed to the other.

Fangs rolled his eyes. _How did I get stuck with these two? _"I was trying to tell you guys that I found something."

"What'd ya find?" asked Bolt.

"I don't know. All I know is that it's yellow."

"Well, we're not gonna find out just by floating here," commented Blue.

"Good point," said Fangs, and he led the others to what he had found. As they approached, they saw that it was not only yellow, but also furry. Its eyes stared at the three Boos in front of it and began to tremble. Only one thing came from it…

"_Chu?"_

The Boos stared at it, then at each other. Blue came closer to the foreign creature.

"What _is _that thing?"

***

Luigi sighed as he sat by a tree in a nearby park outside of Toad Town. "I guess figuring out the right pet for me's gonna be tougher than I thought."

He had thought of all the pets he could want but the search wasn't anywhere near his favor. He thought about having a Cheep Cheep, but he suddenly remembered what had happened to poor Flips. A Chain Chomp was definitely out of the question for him. The same thing went for the Piranha Plants. Luigi had enough experience when it came to dealing with them while going along with his brother on his adventures.

A soft yawn came from the man. He had been walking around all day trying to find the perfect pet, not to mention that he woke up pretty early to fix that big breakfast.

"I suppose a little nap couldn't hurt…" Luigi took off his hat and set it beside him. Using it as a pillow, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

***

"Sir? Excuse me. Sir?" Luigi felt someone shaking his shoulder. He mumbled something incoherent in his slumber and resumed falling into his dreams.

"Sir, wake up. Sir?" The shaking grew harder, waking Luigi up. He saw a Toad with a yellow-spotted mushroom cap hovering above him.

"What?" asked the plumber lazily.

"Sir, it's getting late."

"Huh?" Looking around the park, he saw that the park was vacant and the sky was beginning to darken.

"Oh. Thanks."

"No problem." He walked off, leaving Luigi alone with his thoughts.

"Guess I took a long snooze." He got up from his spot under the tree and stretched. He may not have been successful with his pet search today, but there was always tomorrow.

"Oh well. Maybe I'll have better luck- Whoa!" A bolt of lightning shot upwards into the sky. This was bizarre considering that there wasn't a storm at all,, let alone a single cloud.

_What was that?_ Another lightning bolt flashed and then another. Deciding to no longer just stand there, Luigi picked up his hat and raced towards the source of the lightning.

***

"_Chuuuuu!" _cried the creature as it launched a blast of electricity at Bolt. He ducked the attack and looked at his cousin and friend.

"What's this thing even doing here in Boo Woods anyway?"

"You think I have any idea?" Fangs shouted as he narrowly got away from another electric attack.

"Who cares?" Blue said. "Look it's getting away!"

The yellow creature dashed off in a sprint to escape from the Boos. They floated in hot pursuit of it. Bolt vanished and reappeared in front of the animal causing it to stop in its tracks. It turned to meet face-to-face with Fangs. The animal staggered backwards on its feet and looked at the Boos with fear in its eyes. Blue performed the same technique his cousin did earlier and tackled it to Fangs who sent it to Bolt. The tree spirits continued to pass the poor thing to each other as if it were nothing but a ball. The animal screeched as it was passed from one ghost to the other. Once it got to Blue, he tackled it so hard that it passed the others and smacked into a tree, hard.

"Jeez, Blue, did you have to hit it _that_ hard?" asked Fangs.

His friend gave him a sheepish grin. "Guess I don't know my own strength."

They faced the fallen creature who gazed back at them. Its face was filled with nothing but fear and its body shook as it tried to lean further back into the tree but found that it couldn't. It closed its eyes and waited for its fate to be sealed.

The Boos floated closer to it, all the distance between the two species completely being erased. Just then, a green fireball came out of nowhere and sped between them. The spirits turned and saw a man wearing green overalls, a white shirt, and a white hat with a green L in a white circle.

"What's going on here?" Although Luigi was afraid to go into Boo Woods, he had heard the screeches from the animal and happened to come across a Fire Flower on the way over. The screeches and his curiosity had led him all the way to the scene before him.

The Boos looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Out of the corner of his eye, Luigi saw the yellow bundle curled up by the tree. Its eyes were shut tightly and he could only guess that it was in pain.

"What happened?"

Fangs flew forward. "We found…" he pointed to the wounded animal, "that thing just standing around so we decided to check it out. I guess it got scared and then it let out some electricity at us. Then it ran off and we chased after it. One of my friends got in front of it and hit towards his cousin who sent it to me and it somehow turned into a little game and…" He cut himself off, not wanting to finish it up. He saw the look on Luigi's face and floated back a bit.

Luigi glanced between the ghosts and the animal. "You were… _hurting_ this innocent thing?" His tone had immediately changed from curiosity to anger.

"Uh…" Fangs didn't know what else to say. Blue came up behind him. "It just seemed weak and- "

"Weak?" Luigi's right hand began to glow green. It was one thing to call him weak. But to call a defenseless animal the same thing and to simply attack it was putting him past his limits. Luigi knew what it's like to be put down and everything, he was used to it even if it did hurt him on the inside at times. But to do that that to anyone, especially an animal like this one, was just completely wrong.

Blue and Fangs backed up further from the plumber as his hand glowed brighter with every passing second.

"What do we do now?" Blue whispered. Fangs shrugged, not diverting his gaze from Luigi.

"Hey, leave it alone!" Luigi shouted and threw a fireball in Bolt's direction. He was apparently closest to the creature and feared more harm would come to it. Feeling like he should do something instead of just float there, Bolt zipped through the air and collided into Luigi's stomach. Luigi felt the air get knocked right out of him as he fell to the ground. He looked at himself and found that he was back in his original clothing.

"Uh oh…"

Bolt swooped down towards Luigi again, but this time the man in green rolled out of the way and stood up.

_Great. Now what do I do?_

Blue repeated his cousin's actions only to have the plumber jump out of the way. Fangs dove downward with his teeth bared and bit off part of the green sleeve, narrowly missing Luigi's skin by a hair. Luigi panted from the dodging he had been doing. He suddenly caught a glimpse of the yellow fur ball laying there behind him now. Seeing the injured look on its face was enough to make him more determined to defend it.

He turned back to face the Boos but saw that his distraction gave them enough time to strike. Luigi bit his lower lip in thought and suddenly his hands began to spark. He glanced down at his hands, realizing that he did have another power. He brought them out in front of him and then…

"WOAH!" exclaimed all three Boos as a big ball of electricity came their way. They turned intangible at the last second to avoid any damage. They looked at Luigi who had a determined face and another electric ball glowing in his hands.

"Oh, snap!" shouted Blue. "Let's get outta here!" He disappeared along with his friend and cousin.

Luigi lowered his guard once they had vanished and rushed over to the animal. Now that he was closer he could get a better look at it.

It obviously had yellow fur and it had pointed ears with black tips. One red circle was on each cheek and two brown stripes were on its back. Its tail was in the shape of a lightning bolt with a small dent on the end. Luigi couldn't help but remember seeing something like this before.

_How did it get here? _But before he could ponder on anything else, he felt something wet land on his large nose.

Lightning began to flash and rain started to pour down heavily on the two. Luigi didn't waste another second. He scooped up the foreign animal into his arms, along with the ripped off piece of his shirt that was close by, and dashed off through the rain.

In his arms, the creature gazed up at him and muttered a weak _"Chu?"_

"Don't worry, little guy," Luigi reassured the animal. "You're safe with me now."


	2. Chapter 2

A very long time for an update, I know. Nothing much happens here, unfortunately. I tried putting in humor but that never really was my strong suit now, was it?

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Chapter 2: Settling In

Luigi shivered from the cold rain as he entered the house. He looked down to see that he wasn't the only one trembling from the cold. Rushing over to the hallway closet, he took out a green towel and wrapped it around the shaking, yellow bundle.

"Poor thing…" Luigi stared at its scrunched up face for a moment. He knew he saw this creature before; he just couldn't put his finger on it. He set the animal on the couch, its head resting on one of the cushions, and went upstairs. In a few minutes he was back with a book.

It was nothing special; it was just a photo album. Luigi flipped it open to the very first page. In it was a picture of his brother, followed by himself. Bowser was next, and then came Peach. There was also a picture of a pink puffball with red feet holding some sort of wand in its stubby, little arms. Luigi skimped through the contents of the album until he came across a picture of a familiar being. He looked up from the book and back down again, stealing observatory glances at the two. The creature in the photo was the same as the one lying on the sofa at this very moment. From the yellow fur to the lightning bolt shaped tail, it was the same. Under the photograph was the name "Pikachu".

"Pikachu…" Luigi mouthed. _No wonder it looked so familiar. _Putting the album aside, Luigi glanced up at the Pikachu in front of him. Its eyes slowly fluttered open and when it was fully awake, it stood upright with its back against the sofa.

"It's okay," Luigi calmly said. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

Not wanting to believe him, Pikachu tried to get in a defensive position but squeaked when it attempted to crouch down. It felt something rubbing its back and looked up to see Luigi hovering over it. Unsure of whether to trust him, it let out a small electric jolt.

"Ah!" Luigi stared at his hand then at the yellow mouse whose face was still etched with fear. He took a wary step closer but stopped when he saw tiny sparks emitting from its cheeks.

"Still scared, huh?" The green plumber noticed Pikachu was shaking. "Hey, are you still cold?"

The sparks slowly ceased, with Pikachu lowering its head. It sneezed and cautiously looked at its savior.

"_Chu," _it answered, so softly that Luigi barely heard it.

Taking it as a yes, he went into the kitchen. Taking out a carton of milk and a small pot, Luigi poured some of the white liquid into the pot and set it on the stove. He turned it on and went to check on Pikachu. He didn't even reach the living room when he had heard a low grumbling sound.

"_Pi…"_

_Hmm… now what was it that they liked again? _There was a bowl of fruit resting on a nearby counter. Taking a knife out of the drawer, a plate, and an apple, Luigi started cutting the fruit until it was completely diced.

"Here you go." He placed the dish on the couch next to Pikachu. It looked at it hungrily as it went to reach for a piece then pulled away, staring timidly at the man before it.

"Go on, help yourself. It's fine." Wanting to give it some space, he retreated back to the kitchen.

Pikachu remained glued to its spot on the couch staring at the fruit. It wasn't sure whether to trust Luigi or not, especially after what had happened to it before he had arrived at the scene. But he did save it and it wasn't abandoned in the rain. Maybe it _could _trust him.

It heard its stomach growl again and decided to just take a piece. It bit off half of it before stuffing the rest whole in its mouth. It chewed, swallowed, and went to take another piece to devour it.

"Whoa, slow down!" Pikachu jumped at the sound of Luigi's voice. "I know you're hungry, but take it easy."

It noticed that he was carrying a small bowl filled halfway with a white liquid. The liquid looked warm. Pikachu stared at it with curiosity while munching on its second apple piece.

"Are you thirsty?" Luigi picked up the Pokémon and set it on the floor along with the bowl. It stared at the round dish, then at the plumber.

"_Pika?"_

"It's warm milk. It should warm you up now that we're inside from the rain. Be careful, though. It might be a little hot."

The mouse stared at the milk and went to lick some when…

"_Cha!" _Pain shot through its body when it tried to bend down.

Luigi rushed over, picked it up, and set it back on the couch. He rubbed its back, and this time, Pikachu didn't zap him. It let him soothe its aching back as it lied down, purring to the gentle touch.

"I guess you're back is still sore," the green plumber observed. While relaxing to the massage, Pikachu noticed the plate of diced apples next to Luigi.

"_Pika pikachu?" _It pointed to the apples beside him. Luigi looked behind him and saw the plate. "Oh, sure." He put the plate between them, not removing his hand from its back.

Picking up a piece of the fruit, the mouse nibbled a bit before staring at the rest. Looking up at Luigi it asked, _"Chu pi chu pikachu?"_

"Huh?" The plumber gave it a puzzled look. He wasn't very familiar with the language. Sure, he encountered a Pikachu before, but that was when he and Mario participated in the Smash Brothers tournaments. It's been months since he last competed.

"_Chu pi chu pikachu?" _Pikachu repeated. It pointed down at the apple slices then at Luigi. Luigi still wasn't exactly sure.

"Are you trying to ask me if I want any?"

"_Pika pika." _Pikachu nodded, and held up the half-bitten slice towards Luigi's mouth.

"Oh, no thanks," he said, waving his free hand to show he didn't want any. "You go ahead and eat up."

Pikachu did as told and after a few more minutes of sitting on the couch, Luigi got up and brought over the bowl of warm milk. He held it up to Pikachu's face, letting it observe the bowl's contents. The mouse looked up at him, and Luigi gave it a reassuring nod. It licked the milk to its heart's content while Luigi held the bowl steady.

He chuckled softly as Pikachu licked the bowl clean. When Pikachu had finished and looked up, a smile shined on Luigi's face as he tried not to laugh.

"_Pi?"_

The plumber cleared his throat to calm himself, but the smile still stayed. "You got a little milk… on your face…" He went to get a tissue and handed it to the electric Pokémon.

"Uh… I don't think we properly introduced ourselves. I'm Luigi." He held out an open hand.

Pikachu looked at it from behind the tissue, which Luigi found cute. It stuck out its right paw and said, _"Pika Pikachu" _and shook the man's hand. Luigi sat back down with a stifled yawn.

"_Pikachu pika?"_

"Huh?" He saw the little mouse pointing to the open photo album. "Oh! This?" He picked it up and showed it to Pikachu.

"That's another Pikachu. They don't live here but I did get to meet one. It looks just like you."

"_Pika_…" Pikachu shook its head a bit. Luigi noticed with a confused look showing on his face.

"What?"

Pikachu slowly stood up and showed its tail. It then pointed to the one in the photo. Luigi looked at the photo and compared it to Pikachu. Everything was the same in his eyes… almost. The main differences were the tails. The Pikachu standing by him had a small dent at the end of the tail, causing it to resemble a heart. The Pikachu in the picture didn't.

_Funny. How'd I miss that?_

"So, does that make you a female one then?" The mouse nodded.

A sudden clap of thunder roared throughout the skies, causing the small rodent to lean into the couch. Seeing the scared look on its face, Luigi gently patted her head.

"It's alright. You're safe here." Pikachu still didn't feel completely reassured. Luigi saw this and got an idea. He got up from his spot and stood in front of the couch. Pikachu was now confused and pondered on what the man was about to do.

"Watch this." He went to a nearby vase and pulled out a fire flower, resulting in his clothes to magically change into their alternate colors earlier when he had fought off the Boos. Pikachu stared in awe at the transformation and was about to clap when he stopped her.

"Not yet." Holding out an open hand he spawned a light-green fireball. Pikachu's eyes lit up in fascination as the plumber brought up his other hand. Instead of creating a new fireball, Luigi's fingertips began to spark. He brought both hands together and the fireball was now covered with a blue electrical outer shell.

"_Pika!" _exclaimed Pikachu as she clapped.

"Wait, there's more." Now the mouse was at the edge of her seat as she waited for the next trick. Bringing up the electric fireball to eye-level, Luigi carefully curved his right hand around the ball as a soft flame engulfed his hand. A streak of green fire trailed behind his hand's every movement. How he wasn't getting burned confused Pikachu but she paid no mind to that. Seeing the plumber perform for her had to be the most exciting thing in her young life.

"And now…" Luigi slowly centered the fireball between both hands, and with a clap, the ball dispersed into sparks and embers.

"_Cha! Pika pika!" _cheered Pikachu as she gave a standing ovation. Luigi gave a bow to his audience of one. That's when something seemed off. He sniffed the air, taking in the odd scent of… Was that smoke?

Glancing down, he saw a small flame on the carpet. "Whoa!" Luigi frantically stomped on the flame to douse it. As he stepped on the ember he heard a squeaky laugh.

"At least one of us found that amusing," muttered the plumber when he saw Pikachu in a fit of giggles. After making sure the fire was extinguished, Luigi turned and stared down at the mouse. Pikachu had finally ceased laughing and looked up.

"Well, I guess that's enough excitement for one night. Time to get some sleep." He let out a quiet yawn.

Pikachu's ears drooped as she let out a whine and rubbed her head against Luigi's leg.

_Aww… how cute. Hold it, Luigi! Don't fall for it, be a man! _

"_Chu? Pika pi pikachu?_" The little mouse looked at him with pleading eyes. A slight yawn escaped her but she shook it off.

Luigi shook his head and picked her up. "Sorry. Maybe tomorrow."

Pikachu tried to squirm free from him but Luigi was holding on tightly and carefully. "Don't be stubborn, okay?" He felt the struggle lessen and heard a yawn.

"_Pika…"_ Her eyes grew heavy and the plumber could tell she was trying to fight it. Turning off the light in the room, he went upstairs to his room. With a flick of a switch the light was on and the little rodent was placed on the bed. After changing into night clothes, Luigi went over to the closet.

"Hmm… Maybe this'll work." Taking a basket with him, Luigi went back to his room and carefully placed Pikachu in it. She had already fallen asleep on the way to the room. Shutting off the switch, Luigi got himself into bed. He looked at the sleeping mouse in the basket.

_I wonder where she came from._ He let that linger in his mind for the night as he fell asleep himself.


End file.
